May 14, 2019 - Love and peace from our brother Jesus. Sunday was the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The first lesson, the one I chose for my sermon, came from the second part of the Luke Gospel called The Acts of the Apostles. It is the strange story about Dorcas or Tabitha who was a faithful disciple of Jesus. She tended to those in need all around her and was deeply loved. When she became ill, Peter was sent for. Dorcas had died, but Peter called upon her to rise: She did. This story reminds us that the post-Easter world is different from the pre-Easter world, in that death does not have the same dominion.
We knew we were going to have a small Sunday school class Sunday morning. Our very able teacher Fannie was going to be busy being a great-grandmother, so I filled in to do the lesson. Joy’s daughter came in from Houston and took her mom to Dallas for a fun Mother’s Day. We did have a wonderful surprise, though. Carolyn is back from her three- month stay in Pennsylvania! It was so nice to see her and hear her adventure in getting back to Texas.
Our lesson once again came from Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he tried to explain what it meant to “live in the Spirit.” I shared a remembrance of a Paxton/Joaquin pastor from back in the 70s who believed that all sin came from selfishness. I have remembered that all these years, and I think he was right! Paul says there are two kinds of people—people who are selfish and people who live in the Spirit.
We have two more nursing home ministries this month—but both dates fall week after next. One will be at Holiday and the other at Lakeside Assisted Living. Several of our regulars went to the funeral service for Morris Downey. We had been to Focused Care that Monday and Morris, one of the residents who loved southern gospel, helped run the program right along with us. We also heard that a friend, Tommie Methvin from Holiday, had died. We will certainly miss her big smile and kind ways.
During the month of May we are collecting cans of fruit for Community Christian Services. Each month our church selects a “staple” that people will need and spend the month collecting whatever that item is. Then we take it to our friends at CCS. The folks there do such a wonderful service for the surrounding community.
Whoever you are, in whatever faith you were born, whatever creed you profess; if you come to this house to find God you are welcome here.” Paxton United Methodist Church is an inviting church that takes to heart the idea of “Open Doors, Open Hearts, Open Minds.” Sunday School starts at 9:30 and Worship begins at 10:00. Our email address is paxtonumc@yahoo.com. If you would like the weekly email newsletter about Paxton Methodist you can send me your email address to the Paxton email address and I will add you to the list. God’s Speed.
